1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to evaporative distillation systems, and particularly to a water desalination system using geothermal energy for a portion of the heating energy.
2. Description of the Related Art
Innumerable systems and devices have been developed in the past for the purpose of distilling and purifying various liquids. One environmental area in which this is particularly important is the arid areas of the Middle East, in which much of the potable water provided for the citizenry is produced from the evaporation of seawater.
All such distillation systems and devices require energy input for their operation. In many cases solar energy is used exclusively, but the use of only solar energy generally results in relatively inefficient production of pure water. Alternatively, many systems have been constructed to use energy input from other sources, e.g., heating by burning petroleum fuels, electrical energy produced by the burning of such fuels or other fossil fuels, etc. Such energy intensive systems are generally capable of producing a considerably greater volume of pure water than systems utilizing only solar energy, but the cost of water production is relatively high due to the cost of the energy used.
Accordingly, some development has taken place toward the use of other sources of economical energy. An example of such is found in French Patent No. 2,847,571, published on May 28, 2004. This reference describes (according to the drawings and English abstract) a seawater desalination system wherein cold seawater is send down a subterranean pipe to a depth sufficient to heat the water to over one hundred degrees Celsius. The heated water is then returned to a vaporizing and condensing system at the surface.
Thus, a water desalination system using geothermal energy solving the aforementioned problems is desired.